Conversion between transmission control protocols

Abstract

There is provided a method and an apparatus for converting a packet of a first transmission protocol into a packet of a second transmission control protocol, wherein one of the first transmission control protocol and the second transmission control protocol is multipath transmission control protocol (MPTCP) and the other is transmission control protocol (TCP), wherein the converting comprises: obtaining a sequence number indicated in a first header element of the first packet, and copying the obtained sequence number into a second header element of the second packet.

The invention claimed is: 
     
       1. An apparatus comprising:
 at least one processor; and 
 at least one memory comprising computer program code, wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured, with the at least one processor, to cause the apparatus at least to perform: 
 receiving, from a first device, a first packet of a first transmission control protocol, the first packet being targeted to a second device; 
 converting the first packet into a second packet of a second transmission control protocol, wherein the first transmission control protocol is multipath transmission control protocol and the second transmission control protocol is transmission control protocol, wherein the converting comprises:
 obtaining a sequence number indicated in a first header element of the first packet, and 
 copying the obtained sequence number into a second header element of the second packet; 
 
 transmitting the converted second packet to the second device; 
 forwarding a message from the first device to the second device, the message indicating a need to establish a first multipath transmission control protocol subflow; 
 receiving, from the second device to the first device, a response message indicating that the second device does not support multipath transmission control protocol; 
 upon receiving the response message, preventing forwarding the response message to the first device and storing an indication about the second device not supporting multipath transmission control protocol; 
 transmitting an acknowledgement to the first device about the first multipath transmission control protocol subflow; and 
 utilizing said indication in forwarding packets between the first device and the second device. 
 
     
     
       2. The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the converting further comprises:
 recalculating a checksum of the second packet after the copying the obtained sequence number into the second header element. 
 
     
     
       3. The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured, with the at least one processor, to cause the apparatus to further perform
 triggering the converting of the first packet into the second packet if a plurality of multipath transmission control protocol subflows are utilized either by the first device or by the second device in a connection between the first device and the second device. 
 
     
     
       4. The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured, with the at least one processor, to cause the apparatus to further perform
 when a plurality of multipath transmission control protocol subflows are not utilized either by the first device or by the second device in the connection between the first device and the second device, forwarding packets according to transmission control protocol between the first device and the second device without performing the converting. 
 
     
     
       5. The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured, with the at least one processor, to cause the apparatus to further perform
 in response to the transmitting the converted second packet to the second device, receiving, from the second device, an acknowledgement or non-acknowledgement regarding the second packet; and 
 in response to receiving the acknowledgement or non-acknowledgement according to the second transmission control protocol, forwarding the acknowledgement or non-acknowledgment to the first device, wherein the acknowledgement or non-acknowledgement is converted from the second transmission control protocol into the first transmission control protocol before the forwarding. 
 
     
     
       6. The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured, with the at least one processor, to cause the apparatus to further perform
 selecting an multipath transmission control protocol subflow amongst a plurality of multipath transmission control protocol subflows, based on one or more measurements on said subflows, for forwarding the first packet. 
 
     
     
       7. The apparatus of  claim 6 , wherein the one or more measurements comprise a round-trip-time measurement. 
     
     
       8. The apparatus of  claim 6 , wherein the one or more measurements comprise a signal quality or signal strength measurement. 
     
     
       9. The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured, with the at least one processor, to cause the apparatus to further perform
 receiving a message from the first device indicating a need to establish a second multipath transmission control protocol subflow; 
 transmitting an acknowledgement to the first device about the second multipath transmission control protocol subflow at least on the basis of the stored indication that the second device does not support multipath transmission control protocol; and 
 triggering, based at least on the use of the first and second multipath transmission control protocol subflows, converting multipath transmission control protocol packets, from the first device to the second device, into transmission control protocol packets, and converting transmission control protocol packets, from the second device to the first device, into multipath transmission control protocol packets. 
 
     
     
       10. A method in a network element for forwarding packets between a multipath transmission control protocol capable device and a non-multipath transmission control protocol capable device, the method comprising:
 receiving, from a first device, a first packet of a first transmission control protocol, the first packet being targeted to a second device; 
 converting the first packet into a second packet of a second transmission control protocol wherein the first transmission control protocol is multipath transmission control protocol and the second transmission control protocol is transmission control protocol, wherein the converting comprises
 obtaining a sequence number indicated in a first header element of the first packet, and 
 copying the obtained sequence number into a second header element of the second packet; 
 
 transmitting the converted second packet to the second device; 
 forwarding a message from the first device to the second device, the message indicating a need to establish a first multipath transmission control protocol subflow; 
 receiving, from the second device to the first device, a response message indicating that the second device does not support multipath transmission control protocol; 
 upon receiving the response message, preventing forwarding the response message to the first device and storing an indication about the second device not supporting multipath transmission control protocol; 
 transmitting an acknowledgement to the first device about the first multipath transmission control protocol subflow; and 
 utilizing said indication in forwarding packets between the first device and the second device. 
 
     
     
       11. A non-transitory computer readable medium storing program instructions that, when executed by a processor cause a network element to perform at least:
 receiving, from a first device, a first packet of a first transmission control protocol, the first packet being targeted to a second device; 
 converting the first packet into a second packet of a second transmission control protocol, wherein the first transmission control protocol is multipath transmission control protocol and the second transmission control protocol is transmission control protocol, wherein the converting comprises:
 obtaining a sequence number indicated in a first header element of the first packet, and 
 copying the obtained sequence number into a second header element of the second packet; 
 
 transmitting the converted second packet to the second device; 
 forwarding a message from the first device to the second device, the message indicating a need to establish a first multipath transmission control protocol subflow; 
 receiving, from the second device to the first device, a response message indicating that the second device does not support multipath transmission control protocol; 
 upon receiving the response message, preventing forwarding the response message to the first device and storing an indication about the second device not supporting multipath transmission control protocol; 
 transmitting an acknowledgement to the first device about the first multipath transmission control protocol subflow; and 
 utilizing said indication in forwarding packets between the first device and the second device. 
 
     
     
       12. A system, comprising:
 a first device that supports a first transmission control protocol; 
 a second device that supports a second transmission control protocol; 
 an apparatus comprising at least one processor, and at least one memory comprising computer program code, wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured, with the at least one processor, to cause the apparatus at least to perform: 
 receiving, from the first device, a first packet of the first transmission control protocol, the first packet being targeted to the second device; 
 converting the first packet into a second packet of the second transmission control protocol, wherein the first transmission control protocol is multipath transmission control protocol and the second transmission control protocol is transmission control protocol, wherein the converting comprises
 obtaining a sequence number indicated in a first header element of the first packet; 
 copying the obtained sequence number into a second header element of the second packet; 
 
 transmitting the converted second packet to the second device; 
 forwarding a message from the first device to the second device, the message indicating a need to establish a first multipath transmission control protocol subflow; 
 receiving, from the second device to the first device, a response message indicating that the second device does not support multipath transmission control protocol; 
 upon receiving the response message, preventing forwarding the response message to the first device and storing an indication about the second device not supporting multipath transmission control protocol; 
 transmitting an acknowledgement to the first device about the first multipath transmission control protocol subflow; and 
 utilizing said indication in forwarding packets between the first device and the second device.